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“You want to go toe to toe with him?”
“We want something. That means we have to give something in return.”
“What do we have that he’ll want?” her father asked.
That was a question she wanted answered too.
“A megaphone,” Sersha murmured. “Take Imogen home.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll wait for Lach.” When Strat hesitated, Sersha smiled. “Honestly, I’ll be fine. Take your daughter home.”
“You’re not invincible,” Strat said, stern in his concern. “Didn’t you learn anything from the last time you wound up in here?”
“To fight for your life, you first have to value it. If they want to take me down, they can do it. What do I have left to lose?”
Backing off, the woman walked away, disappearing into the Carlyle crowd.
“He really hurt her,” she muttered. “The guy who broke her heart.”
“You have no idea,” her father said under his breath, sliding an arm around her. “Come on. We need to check on your brother.”
And on Jagg.
Their posse was apart, each concerned for the others. If this didn’t teach them they were strongest together, she didn’t know what would.
THIRTY-SIX
“DO YOU WANT to stay at mine?” her father asked for maybe the tenth time. “I know you said no already. Are you sure? I can turn around.”
“You don’t have room,” she said. “I don’t mind being at Ford’s.”
Though she might go crazy if she didn’t lay eyes on Jagg soon.
Her heart rate picked up as they rounded onto Jagg’s block. Play it cool. Keep calm. She couldn’t fly out of the car and run to him. Oh, why did they have to be secret? How long could that secret last when their lives were being endangered?
They stopped and she took off her seatbelt. “You don’t have to come in,” she said. “Everyone’s tired. We should all get some rest.”
Or do their best to try.
“I’ll come over in the morning,” he said, leaning over to pull her head to his lips. “Try not to get into any more trouble until then.”
“Will you check on Sersha before you—”
“Yes,” he said. “I’ll call her.”
Good. On another reassuring smile, she left the car. The vehicle stayed there, waiting until she opened the side door and gave her father another wave. Yes, she was fine, but it was his job to worry. Something she was coming to terms with gradually. Moving through the dark corridor, she mustered her strength to maintain composure. Be relaxed. Be…
In the breakroom, Jagg was alone. And her poise dropped in a snap.
“Oh my God,” she exhaled, hurrying to him as he strode over to pull her against him.
All thoughts of reserve vanished when he grabbed her head to tip it back and plant his mouth on hers. He’d needed her. In his urgency, his desperation matched the explosion of need within her. Need to be together, to see the other. Separation was a weakness. At that moment, she found strength.
“What were you thinking?” he panted, breaking the kiss to shake her head once. “Everything. You tell me everything.”
Just managing a nod, she bounced up to kiss him again. He boosted her onto the kitchen island and pulled her closer. Angling her back, pushing, taking, forcing, as she grabbed, squeezed and pressed in return. Eager to express her fear for him, her legs caught his hips and pulled him in close. Not close enough. She needed to be joined with him, to have him moving inside her and—
